Background and purpose: Several studies have mentioned the prevalence of chronic tinnitus in the communities and its adverse effects on the patients’ quality of life. Although no cure for this condition has been found, the use of drugs, benzodiazepines and antihistamines, is common among the current treatments. This study compared the effects of alprazolam and cinnarizine therapy in patients with idiopathic tinnitus.
Materials and methods: This clinical trial study was done on 101 patients with idiopathic tinnitus. Patients were randomly divided into two groups and 15 days were treated with alprazolam and cinnarizine. The study data were analyzed using the SPSS software at the significant level of less than 0.05.
Results: Mean age of patients was 45.50 ± 12.40 years, ranged from 20 to 75 years. 67.3% (68) of patients were women and 32.7% (33) were men. The cure rate after treatment was 0% in alprazolam and 2.3% in cinnarizine groups, respectively. The rates of partial remission and drowsiness in alprazolam and cinnarizine groups were 47.7% and 43.2%, and 68.4% and 31.6%, respectively.
Conclusion: Alprazolam and cinnarizine are equally effective in the treatment of idiopathic tinnitus. Nevertheless, as the side effect of drowsiness was more in the alprazolam, it is preferable in terms of cinnarizine.